Mythology: Boon from the Ashwins

The Ashwins are the twin sons of Surya, the sun god. They are horsemen born of a nymph who turned herself into a mare in order to seduce Surya. The Ashwins are associated with celestial lights, and are said to be the bringers of Usha (the dawn), and they precede Usha each morning in their golden chariots drawn by birds. They were worshipped in the Vedic period for their famed ability of bestowing youth upon mortals.

There are many tales of the Ashwins' benevolence to mortals. One such story is as follows. Chyavana was a very old sage. His body was decrepit and shrivelled. One day, he was resting near his hut by the woods, when some boys came by on their way to bathe in the pool nearby. Upon seeing Chyavana's ugly body, they started to make fun of him. Chyavana was furious at their mockery and resolved to put a terrible curse on the boys. On hearing this, the boys' father rushed to the old sage's home and pleaded with him, offering the hand of his daughter Sukanya, in order to appease his anger.

The old man was mollified, and after the marriage, settled down contentedly as a husband. Some time later, the Ashwins came to Chyavana's home and one of them started to flirt with Sukanya who was beautiful and young. Sukanya, although miserable at her fate, remained faithful and refused to respond to the Ashwin's advances. When Chyavana realised what was going on, he devised a plan whereby he could get the twins to bestow youth upon him. He instigated Sukanya to taunt the twins by telling them that they were incomplete in one aspect.

The vain young men inquired anxiously just what that aspect was. Sukanya promised to tell them upon the condition that they restore her husband's youth.

The twins agreed and instructed Chyavana to go and bathe in a certain pool in the forests. Chyavana did as they told him and came back, transformed. Then the Ashwins asked Sukanya to answer their question, and so she told them that they were incomplete because they had not been invited to drink soma (a celestial drink that makes the drinker immortal) at a party thrown by Indra, the king of the gods.

Insulted, the twins rushed to Indra's abode, Baikunth, and demanded access to the feast. Indra refused saying that they associated with mortals. Outraged, the twins rushed back to ask Chyavana to seek his advice on how to avenge this indignity.

Chyavana was craftier than they were, and started to perform a sacrifice to the Ashwins. This enraged Indra, who did not acknowledge the Ashwins as gods worthy of offering sacrifice to, and he appeared to attack Chyavana with a mountain in one hand and his customary thunderbolt in the other.

However, Chyavana retaliated by creating a monster, Mada, who had enormous teeth and jaws large enough to swallow the entire universe. Upon seeing this monster, Indra succumbed and asked Chyavana to withdraw Mada. He agreed to do this on condition that the gods allowed the Ashwins to participate in the feast.

And so, the Ashwins were allowed to drink the soma and become immortals.